Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
walk into the island's settlement naked. She hopped into a hot pool to think about
her next move.
Eventually a man came to fetch water from a cold spring beside the hot pool. In a
deep man's voice, Hinemoa called out, 'Who is it?' The man replied that he was
Tutanekai's slave on a water run. Hinemoa grabbed the slave's calabash and
smashed it to pieces. More slaves came, but she smashed their calabashes too,
until finally Tutanekai came to the pool and demanded that the interloper identify
himself - imagine his surprise when it turned out to be Hinemoa. He secreted her
into his hut.
Next morning, after a suspiciously long lie-in, a slave reported that someone was
in Tutanekai's bed. The two lovers were rumbled, and when Hinemoa's superhu-
man efforts to reach Tutanekai had been revealed, their union was celebrated.
Descendants of Hinemoa and Tutanekai still live around Rotorua today.
Activities
Extreme Sports
Rotorua Canopy Tours
EXTREME SPORTS
( 07-343 1001, 0800 226 679;
www.canopytours.co.nz
;
173 Old Taupo Rd; 3hr tours per adult/
child/family $129/85/399; 8am-8pm Oct-Apr, 8am-6pm May-Sep)
Explore a 1.2km web of
bridges, flying foxes, ziplines and platforms, 22m high in a lush native forest canopy 10
minutes out of town (…they say that rimu tree is 1000 years old!). Plenty of native birds
to keep you company. Free pick-ups available.
Agroventures
EXTREME SPORTS
OFFLINE MAP
( 07-357 4747, 0800 949 888;
www.agroventures.co.nz
; Western Rd, off Paradise Valley Rd, Ngon-
gotaha; 1/2/4/8 rides $49/75/99/179; 9am-5pm)
Agroventures is a hive of action, 9km
north of Rotorua on SH5 (shuttles available). Start off with the 43m
bungy
and the
Swoop
, a 130km/h swing that can be enjoyed alone or with friends. If that's not enough,
try
Freefall Xtreme
, which simulates skydiving by blasting you 3m into the air on a
column of wind. Also here is the
Shweeb
, a monorail velodrome from which you hang
in a clear capsule and pedal yourself along recumbently at speeds of up to 60km/h.
Alongside is the
Agrojet
, allegedly NZ's fastest jetboat, splashing around a 1km course.
